In answer to your recent letter given me by our postmaster. I will say
that we are some relation, all right , as your great great grandfather
Caleb's father Philip was a brother of my great great grandfather,
Abraham.
I will give you a brief outline of our two branches:
Richard Fulkerson , born about 1670 or soon after married, had about
eight children. I only know the names of four of his sons. They were
John, and one son which went by the name of just Fulkerson, and Joseph
and Richard who were twins. Joseph, born 1708 married Alchea Rappalgee,
which I think in later years was spelled Rappleye.
They had twelve children, ten of them as follows, Sarah, born 1732 -
Philip born 1735 - Jacob born 1738 - Rebecca born 1740 - Anna, born
1744, Abraham born 1747, John, a twin who died in infancy and Joseph and
Alchea who were also twins. The above Philip was the father of your
great, great, grandfather Caleb and Abraham was my great great
grandfather. Caleb had at least two sisters and a brother Joseph and how
many more, I do not know.
One of his sisters married and went to Virginia. The other married John
Swick, but died leaving no children.
Joseph married, had at least two sons, one son was drowned in Seneca
Lake, so Caleb and his brother Joseph must have come up from New Jersey
and settled near Senecal Lake not far from the same time.
Our ancestors came to America from Holland. Some say that they
originally came from Sweden before living in Holland. They came to
America about 1628 and settled on Long Island, N.Y. on what was known as
Greenpoint where the City of Brooklyn now stands.
Some say there were two brothers who came while others say there were
three, at any rate, two brothers, "The descendants of one of the
brothers who came from Holland, purchased six hundred acres of land on
the west fork of the Raritan River four miles from New Brunswick in
Somerset County, New Jersey.
Richard, the older brother built a house, barn and other buildings on
this land in 1714. My great grandfather visited there in 1812 and speaks
of this house.
In 1936, I visited this house and went though it from cellar to attic
and it was in very good condition for it's age. The beautiful ceilings,
fire places, and built in corner cupboards were in good condition,
although no one was living in the home then.
My branch of the family came up from New Jersey in 1813 and settled on
the east side of Cayuga Lake "Sister lake to Seneca".
Then in 1821, they moved to the east side of Seneca Lake, almost
directly across from where Caleb lived, which leads me to believe that
they both knew where each lived.
